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One of the main principles of the American Legion is to fulfill the needs of veterans and their families. We strive to do this at both the Post and National levels. The individual Post programs provide aid to local vets and families while the National Organization actively lobbies with Congress to maintain funding for veterans’ benefits.

All these programs are not cheap and are funded through membership dues. That is why, even though our 2014 membership is 2,400,000, we must strive for new members. There are thousands of eligible younger veterans out there we don’t seem to be reaching. It’s your we are striving to preserve not just our own. We can’t fight this battle for you, we need your help to make our voices heard.

Visit local Posts and get to know the people, see what programs are available, then decide on which one to join and how you can help. We are constantly seeking new ideas, your ideas for activities to get new people involved in the Post. Let us know what you would like to see. We can only learn something new if someone shows it to us, and the only bad ideas are the ones you haven’t told us.

You are our future and without a future we will no longer exist. Help us help you, consider joining now. Stop by our Post, the post of your choice, or sign up at the National Post now.

Patton never considered a career other than the military and in 1902 wrote a letter to Sen. Bard for a recommendation to the United States Military Academy. Afraid he would do poorly on the entrance exam, he decided to apply to universities with Reserve Officer’s Training Corps programs. He attended Virginia Military Institute from 1903 to 1904. He excelled in uniform appearance inspection and military drill. In 1904 he passed the entrance exam and Sen. Bard recommended him for West Point.

He fit right into the routine and continued to show exceptional

West Point Fencing

prowess in military drill. His academic skills were not as well honed however and he had to repeat his first year. He would overcome this and become cadet sergeant major his junior year and cadet adjutant his senior year. He was also a member of the fencing and track and field teams. He graduated ranking 46 of 103 and was commissioned second lieutenant in the cavalry on June 11, 1909. Continue reading →

The 16th of December will mark the 70th anniversary of “The Battle of the Bulge”. This look back is dedicated to the veterans still alive who fought in the battle and those who have passed on, including my father who served in an artillery unit in Patton’s 3rd Army. We salute you all and thank you for your service.

The “Battle of the Bulge” was coined by the press to refer to the Allied

6TH armored Division in Belgium

line bulged inward on wartime maps. It was also known as “Operation Watch on the Rhine”, “Battle of the Ardennes”, and the “Ardennes Counteroffensive”.

Since it was felt that Germany’s defensive stature to this point only offered a delay to defeat, it was decided to mount an offensive attack. Two plans were presented to Hitler. The first considered the retaking of Antwerp as too ambitious and did not involve the crossing of the Meuse River. The second involved a blitzkriegattack through the Ardennes Mountains. This was the plan Hitler decided to use, despite the objection of many German generals. He felt the Americans weren’t capable of fighting effectively and the home front would collapse on hearing of such a decisive loss.Continue reading →

After the invasion of French Indochina by Japanese Imperial Forces in 1940 the United States halted all shipments to Japan of airplane parts, machine tools, and aviation gas in hopes of curbing any further advancement in Indochina. With this having no effect on the Japanese intentions of advancement, in 1941 president Roosevelt issued an embargo of oil shipment to Japan and moved the Pacific Fleet from San Diego to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in hopes of discouraging further incursions. Instead the Japanese considered it a severe provocation.

Course taken by Japanese Task Force

At 6:00 AM Wednesday November 26, 1941 Hittokapu Bay was a bustle as a Japanese task force of six aircraft carriers set sail to rendezvous with their escort of destroyers, cruisers, tankers, and submarines. Under the leadership of Admiral Yamamoto, their destination was a point north of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Their purpose, if they remained undetected and a peace pact with the United States hadn’t been reached, attack Pearl Harbor and cripple the Pacific Fleet.Continue reading →

I recently saw that one of the cable channels is going to show “Yes Virginia…” and, having heard the story several times growing up, I decided to do some research on the matter.

The original letter was written by Virginia O’Hanlon in 1897. When her father

Virginia 1895

found himself unable to answer her question about the existence of Santa Claus, he told her to write the Sun (a prominent New York paper), because if they said there was a Santa Claus there really must be one. An editor for the Sun, Francis Church, who had been a war correspondent during the Civil War saw this as an opportunity to restore the faith and hope that the conflict had stripped from society. Despite the unobtrusive seventh place position on the editorial page the letter and response went on to be the reprinted editorial in any English speaking newspaper.

Virginia was born July 20,1889 in Manhattan. After a brief marriage to Edward Douglas, he deserted her just before the birth of their daughter Laura, she went on to obtain several degrees from prominent universities and become an educator in the New York school system and retired in 1959. Throughout her life she received a constant flow of mail about her letter and quoted the editorial in all responses. On Christmas Eve 1969 Virginia finally got to meet Santa Claus.

After Virginia’s death in 1971 her friends wrote a children’s book “Yes Virginia”, a brief history of the editorial and the main characters, and brought it to Warner Brothers who made it into an Emmy award winning TV show. In 1998 one of Virginia’s grand daughters had the original letter authenticated and appraised at $20,000-$30,000 on Antiques Roadshow. Continue reading →

As the holidays draw nearer and we make our plans to be with family and friends, let’s not forget the homeless vets. Our brothers and sisters who have nowhere and no one to share these happy times with.

A recent HUD poll showed that there are 49,933 homeless veterans in America today (32,048 living in shelters, 17,885 on the streets), making up about 33% of the total homeless population. There are approximately 1253 in Massachusetts. The figures showed a decrease in the last few years, but unfortunately there are always newcomers to the ranks. It’s disheartening to see any person homeless but it’s particularly painful when he or she proudly displays the service they have given that we all might live the American dream.Continue reading →

Welcome to Post 313

COME VISIT US

Our purpose here is to serve Veterans and the Community.

We are constantly seeking new members to help in this effort. If you are an eligible veteran or know of an eligible veteran and would like to join, please stop by the post at 90 Groton Road (Route 40) North Chelmsford or give us a call- 978-251-4933.

We hope you will visit our site often and use it as a source for following both Legion and Community activities. Browse through the menu pages to view upcoming events and services we offer.

Please leave a comment below on your likes or dislikes of any postings or if you an event you would like considered for inclusion below.